On Wednesday, Starbucks Corporation CEO Kevin Johnson announced he is retiring after five years in the position. While the coffee retailer searches for a permanent replacement for Johnson, Starbucks founder and former two-time CEO Howard Schultz will return as interim chief executive.
Schultz previously served as Starbucks CEO from 1986 to 2000 and then again from 2008 to 2017. Starbucks said it hopes to hire a permanent CEO by the fall. One of Schultz’s primary challenges this year will be to navigate the company’s labor situation. Roughly 140 Starbucks stores in 26 U.S. states have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to unionize, and six locations have already voted in favor of a union.
